The Guild Flea Market

I've talked before about my quilt guild (Redwood Empire Quilters Guild). March's program was to be a Flea Market. There were lots of tables and goods to buy: home made pickles (samples even!), apple butter, hot pepper jelly; old quilt & knitting patterns, grab bags of fabrics, yarns trims; baskets, nick knacks, hand made quilts, knitted booties, dyed silk scarves and more! Scottie Dog Quilts had a couple of tables and we sold a lot of our own cut 2 1/2" fabric strips we call "Honey Buns," patterns, die-cut tumblers & diamonds and lots more. Here's what our table looked like:
Bridgette brought several tables of lovely china, figurines (probably 50 chickens!), vintage pieces. She also had samples of the jars of jellies & preserves she'd made.



My good friend, Jen Duncan had wonderful things to sell....I just love her creative edge....and her new technique for making these rustic scallop edges on quilts!





I knew from her blog she was going to bring in die-cut (with WonderUnder already applied) Alphabet Letters so I'd actually reserved a set, but I hightailed it over to her table so I could get first pick. Don't you love her darling yo-yo kits? And those fabric & button flowers!




Jen has an Etsy store so no matter where you live you, too, can buy some of her wares. I only wish my camera caught her lovely smile. Jen smiles with her whole face, her eyes twinkle....she is such a calm person. I'm so glad to have met her through our store. Liz and I often say one of the best things about owning Scottie Dog Quilts is meeting the people we do.



Here are some really darling bags someone had for sale. There were fabric ones, felted wool totes, rag square bags and more.
There were so many things to see, I spent some of my $$ too.

Want to own one of the African Quilts????

Remember yesterday's stunning quilts by Sarah Zalen? It turns out they were made for a purpose. To help fund needy schools in Nigeria. If you would like to help out and own one of the stunning quilts in ysterday's blog read on.
Below is a request letter sent out by Chevron for whom Sarah's hubby Tom works.

"Folks,

Tom and Sarah Zalan of Chevron, are spear-heading a Charity Drive for some schools near Eleko Beach (described further below by Tom).

Sarah has made 3 stunning quilts, named ‘Snap, Crackle and Pop’, in different African fabrics that she is now auctioning to raise funds for the Schools project. Please see attached photos. The photo’s are good, but do not do justice to the vibrancy of the colours and the quality of the workmanship.

If you would like to bid on these quilts, then please email Sarah as soon as possible on spinathoner@aol.com, because she will need a means of communicating the current bid price to you. The names of the various bidders remain completely anonymous. If you could also email your cell phone number, then this would also be helpful in case Sarah needs to get hold of you.

The starting bid price for each quilt is $200 USD.
Bidding has now started and will END at 12.00 noon, Wednesday 18 March 2009.
So…, time is very much of the essence.

Further questions can also be directed to Sarah,

Many thanks for your consideration of this matter,





Charity Drive Information about 3 Schools in Ibeju Village, near Eleko Beach

TOM ZALAN :
Dear Friends, As a fun new charity project, my children, Katie and Joe, and I are running a drive for especially needy schools in Ibeju village, near Eleko beach. We visited there over the holidays to scope out needs at two schools, Muhammed International Primary School AND Ibeju Public Junior & Senior High School. We recognize the potential far-reaching effects of helping to provide a quality education to these children. Muhammed Primary has over 200 students in 9 classes, grades K - 5. They are temporarily renting a site, until their new school is completed. Muhammed Primary is in great need of instructional materials and visual teaching aids, as well as portable lamps & fans, portable blackboards, a small generator and a mobile toilet. Their new school is currently being built on the outskirts of Ibeju village. Ibeju Junior & Senior High School has over 400 students attending grades 7 - 12. To help make the high school a more conducive place for learning, they are in great need of walls to be painted, new desks & chairs, and sports equipment. Plus please be aware that Chevron Public Affairs will very likely give matching contributions to the schools, so any monies you are generous enough to donate will effectively be doubled! Thank you very much for considering supporting a neighbor community."

When is the same quite different?

I've been wondering what to blog about lately and was pretty much stumped until my friend Katie emailed me some pictures from her friend Sarah. Background: Katie and Sarah were became best friends (BFF's) when they lived in So. CA and their children were small. Many, many moves later they are still the best of friends and make it a point to get together at least a couple of times a year. A few years back Katie and her hubby moved to Eureka and she became one of our fabulous employees at Scottie Dog Quilts and even a member of that elite small quilting group, The Grateful Threads. I met Sarah a couple of years before that when she was visiting Katie and the two of them came into the store. Sarah said she needed a lot of thread, needles and a large number of books. She gave me a list and said she'd be in town for three weeks. I was pretty surprised at the list of 25 or 30 books, 100's of needles and a huge assortment of thread. You see, Sarah was living in Bali. Yes, BALI, land of paradise.....LAND OF BATIKS! Her husband works for an oil company and she's lived many places around the globe. She had to make a large order because mail order didn't really work to Bali. She just got a lot of empty packages. So she stocked up.
Sarah's come back several times and Katie has gone to visit too. (Wow!, pack me in your suitcase). So now, Sarah lives in Nigeria. That's in Africa. Lions, tigers & elephants, Oh, my! African fabrics are quite different than our American fabrics. (Even though most of our American fabrics are printed elsewhere, they are designed by Americans.)
So back to the beginning of my story. I got an email from Katie who was sending pictures of three of Sarah's quilts using African fabrics. They are called Snap, Crackle & Pop although I'm not sure which is which any more.

I'm a "BLUE" person. I love blue and this Blue quilt is no different. I like the graphic Zig Zag of the red/green print that runs through this quilt.

This quilt has so much energy with the stripes and the red/orange going through it. The wild diamonds of the hot colors in the midst of the cool fabrics really grab me. Lots of movement going on in this quilt.

These fabrics are African waxed Batiks and again....a hot color (gold) running through the cool colors. But such a more relaxing feel. I applaud Sarah...all three of these quilts are just wonderful. Each one evokes different feelings and snatches of memories.....but they are all the very same pattern. Great job Sarah! Thanks for letting us share your quilts.

Sydney and Eureka Fire Department

On Thursday morning Liz and I were busily working at the store and who should come in for their yearly check on the fire extinguishers, but the Eureka Fire Department. Four officers came, they were the nicest guys. Now, Sydney has had a huge fascination for two things since she was quite tiny: Fire Trucks and Tow Trucks. On one of our trips to So. CA we had need of a tow truck. Only Sydney was excited about the adventure. Well, Thursday the Fire Department came to visit! We called her over (she was intently painting with watercolors) and she jumped up and down. She shook each hand and said, "Fank you for your service." At this point I don't know who was more excited, Sydney or the EFD Officers. One of them lives next door to a local quilter and was impressed by our inventory....3000 bolts, my guess is he was surprised at how much we put in our small space.


Here's a picture of a local truck winding it's way through Eureka's Sequoia Park....I've driven that road many times and I'm surprised they could get the truck around the curves. Liz asked if they had a truck parked outside so she could take a picture of Sydney with a beloved Fire Truck. Sargent Miller said it was "down the block." Sydney said to one of the guys, "I have a smoke PROtector in my room." One of the guys got down on her level and told her what to do if the "smoke PROtector" ever went off. It was so cute.
At that point one of the officers was hightailing it down the street so he could bring the Fire Engine outside our door! Sydney was given a tour of the truck and they even put her on the front seat!

Here's Sydney and HER men in uniform! I tell you, she had them wrapped around her little finger!

Hats off to our brave men in blue! Thanks Eureka Fire Department.

More Civil War Diary Quilt Blocks

The Grateful Threads traded their Civil War Diary Quilt blocks last week. The book is by Rosemary Young. I also have the CD. It's great to print out templates, rotary cutting directions or paper piecing patterns.



We met at a local Chinese restaurant on a Saturday night, not our usual Thursday. All present except dear Stephanie who had surgery. Here's praying you are feeling nearly normal now Steph!

Here's 8 of our 9 blocks. One will come soon. I don't know how many blocks I have now. Not everyone has been in each round. We are all friends and if someone gets behind, we give them a break (but don't let them forget they owe us!!).

We made our choices for the next round...most are in, some are not, some are out for one round but will jump back in. We had so much fun at dinner....we always have lots to talk about. We'd have fun even if we weren't swapping blocks, but it's like Christmas when we pass them all out. Isn't it funny that when we become adults we begin to think that presents and the excitement of surprises are beneath us. I think the world would be a better place and we'd all be happier if we gave more gifts and surprised more people with kindness.

Beka's Block of the Month

My family’s Quilt Shop (Scottie Dog Quilts) in California has done all kinds of “Block of the Month” programs over the years and I (Beka) have finally just begun my first! They started a new one in January called, “Where the Redwoods meet the Sea”, a Humboldt County Quilt.”

I couldn’t resist this one - it’s my home!!! Minnesota has definitely become my home, but Northern California will always be a “home” to me. This quilt has a redwood tree- I miss them so much! There is the ocean - The Pacific Ocean will always be my favorite, but it’s the best anyway! The quilt also has the beach, and a lighthouse - it’s soo nostalgic for me!

Block of the Month just means you get a new pattern each month, giving you another piece of the puzzle. At the end of the year- It’s done! And it’s a lot of fun to see your project unfold - all in little bite-size pieces!

January’s block was a log cabin pattern - three of them make up the dirt, the mountain under the redwood tree.

February is one star type pattern that makes up the base of the sandy beach.

I received March’s pattern a few days early (one of the many benefits of being a part of “the family business”) and already completed my block - more of the sandy beach.

This is a “scrappy quilt” - another first for me. There aren’t a few coordinating fabrics that make it up, it’s all kinds of fabric - the more the merrier! When it’s all put together it should look great.

I can’t wait for the months to come, I want to finish my quilt! I am planing on hanging this one by the front door, in our entry way. It’s the perfect piece of art that brings a little piece of my first home to my Minnesota home!

Read more about my family here: www.TheHacheHomepage.com